Guild Wars 2

Whether HoT ends with Mordy’s defeat or not, I think it makes sense to keep future LS episodes out of vanilla GW2, for the reasons already mentioned.

Some people see the Personal Story as separate from the Living World content, when in reality both storylines go hand in hand. The LW story continued on from the end of the PS, but because people could play them in any order, it often confused people as to what was happening when. But the fact is, the LW and PS is an ongoing story, with both being linked to each other, so LS episodes must be careful not to break the PS moving forward, like it has in the past. And the easiest way to ensure that is to lock it to the expansion.

People are worried that vanilla will become deserted and empty, but I do not think this will be the case. For one thing, many will want to level a revenant naturally, so many vanilla zones will remain populated. Then add to that the dailies, encouraging groups to populate various zones, and I think you will find vanilla GW2 will remain fairly active. Sure, it might not be as active as day one HoT zones, but that will die down after a while, and players will start to find their favourite areas again.

There is still plenty of things to do in vanilla, and I am confident that we will continue to get additional content added, that is not linked to HoT. For example, they said that new mini games will be added, and for all we know these may not all be locked to HoT. If they add the archery range to Divinity’s Reach, I cannot see this being locked to expansion owners only.

Vanilla GW2 will continue to remain entertaining and full of content, and I expect we will occasionally get new content added along side expansion only content. Consider the new defiance for example, this change could very well mean major changes to the way many existing vanilla champs work around the world. If future mechanic changes come to future expansions, these could have major impacts on vanilla content.

The sky is not falling. Vanilla is not coming to an end. And the devs are not leaving it behind. They are focused on HoT for now, so everything they say will be geared for that. We simply don’t know what the future holds, or whether Anet’s ideas will change. They always try to innovate and make the game fun. If that means revitalizing old zones and adding new core content, then that is what they will do. Nothing is ever set firmly in stone with Anet, as they are always trying new ideas and concepts, and that is one of the greatest things about them.

We really have nothing to worry about.

Edit:

Vayne.8563:

…snip…

I totally agree. Size is not only measured by space. I am extremely happy that Anet has seen the light and focused its attention on quantity of content over quantity of landmass. Having a large beautiful zone is great, but if there is not much to do it will only appeal to players who enjoy sight seeing. For the vast majority of players, content/activities is what keeps them playing, and this is now Anet’s focus.

^ S/he said much of what I have been trying to say.

Rin.1046:

Whether HoT ends with Mordy’s defeat or not, I think it makes sense to keep future LS episodes out of vanilla GW2, for the reasons already mentioned.

Some people see the Personal Story as separate from the Living World content, when in reality both storylines go hand in hand. The LW story continued on from the end of the PS, but because people could play them in any order, it often confused people as to what was happening when. But the fact is, the LW and PS is an ongoing story, with both being linked to each other, so LS episodes must be careful not to break the PS moving forward, like it has in the past. And the easiest way to ensure that is to lock it to the expansion.

People are worried that vanilla will become deserted and empty, but I do not think this will be the case. For one thing, many will want to level a revenant naturally, so many vanilla zones will remain populated. Then add to that the dailies, encouraging groups to populate various zones, and I think you will find vanilla GW2 will remain fairly active. Sure, it might not be as active as day one HoT zones, but that will die down after a while, and players will start to find their favourite areas again.

There is still plenty of things to do in vanilla, and I am confident that we will continue to get additional content added, that is not linked to HoT. For example, they said that new mini games will be added, and for all we know these may not all be locked to HoT. If they add the archery range to Divinity’s Reach, I cannot see this being locked to expansion owners only.

Vanilla GW2 will continue to remain entertaining and full of content, and I expect we will occasionally get new content added along side expansion only content. Consider the new defiance for example, this change could very well mean major changes to the way many existing vanilla champs work around the world. If future mechanic changes come to future expansions, these could have major impacts on vanilla content.

The sky is not falling. Vanilla is not coming to an end. And the devs are not leaving it behind. They are focused on HoT for now, so everything they say will be geared for that. We simply don’t know what the future holds, or whether Anet’s ideas will change. They always try to innovate and make the game fun. If that means revitalizing old zones and adding new core content, then that is what they will do. Nothing is ever set firmly in stone with Anet, as they are always trying new ideas and concepts, and that is one of the greatest things about them.

We really have nothing to worry about.

Edit:

Vayne.8563:

…snip…

I totally agree. Size is not only measured by space. I am extremely happy that Anet has seen the light and focused its attention on quantity of content over quantity of landmass. Having a large beautiful zone is great, but if there is not much to do it will only appeal to players who enjoy sight seeing. For the vast majority of players, content/activities is what keeps them playing, and this is now Anet’s focus.

actually, a lot of what you said here, is good in theory, but going according to what they said, they arent really planning on changing things in the pact tyria. One can hope thats not really what he meant, but going by what he said, expect old areas to stay the same.

I dont realy think it will be good if the game stays mostly the same, thats why people want expansions. They want a meaty chunk of content, that builds on the old, but takes them to new things.

Yes people need quality, but they also need quantity

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269531706887/Nouvelle-cuisine-mash-002.jpg
that may taste awesome, but most people are going to want more food.

phys.7689:

Rin.1046:

Whether HoT ends with Mordy’s defeat or not, I think it makes sense to keep future LS episodes out of vanilla GW2, for the reasons already mentioned.

Some people see the Personal Story as separate from the Living World content, when in reality both storylines go hand in hand. The LW story continued on from the end of the PS, but because people could play them in any order, it often confused people as to what was happening when. But the fact is, the LW and PS is an ongoing story, with both being linked to each other, so LS episodes must be careful not to break the PS moving forward, like it has in the past. And the easiest way to ensure that is to lock it to the expansion.

People are worried that vanilla will become deserted and empty, but I do not think this will be the case. For one thing, many will want to level a revenant naturally, so many vanilla zones will remain populated. Then add to that the dailies, encouraging groups to populate various zones, and I think you will find vanilla GW2 will remain fairly active. Sure, it might not be as active as day one HoT zones, but that will die down after a while, and players will start to find their favourite areas again.

There is still plenty of things to do in vanilla, and I am confident that we will continue to get additional content added, that is not linked to HoT. For example, they said that new mini games will be added, and for all we know these may not all be locked to HoT. If they add the archery range to Divinity’s Reach, I cannot see this being locked to expansion owners only.

Vanilla GW2 will continue to remain entertaining and full of content, and I expect we will occasionally get new content added along side expansion only content. Consider the new defiance for example, this change could very well mean major changes to the way many existing vanilla champs work around the world. If future mechanic changes come to future expansions, these could have major impacts on vanilla content.

The sky is not falling. Vanilla is not coming to an end. And the devs are not leaving it behind. They are focused on HoT for now, so everything they say will be geared for that. We simply don’t know what the future holds, or whether Anet’s ideas will change. They always try to innovate and make the game fun. If that means revitalizing old zones and adding new core content, then that is what they will do. Nothing is ever set firmly in stone with Anet, as they are always trying new ideas and concepts, and that is one of the greatest things about them.

We really have nothing to worry about.

Edit:

Vayne.8563:

…snip…

I totally agree. Size is not only measured by space. I am extremely happy that Anet has seen the light and focused its attention on quantity of content over quantity of landmass. Having a large beautiful zone is great, but if there is not much to do it will only appeal to players who enjoy sight seeing. For the vast majority of players, content/activities is what keeps them playing, and this is now Anet’s focus.

actually, a lot of what you said here, is good in theory, but going according to what they said, they arent really planning on changing things in the pact tyria. One can hope thats not really what he meant, but going by what he said, expect old areas to stay the same.

I dont realy think it will be good if the game stays mostly the same, thats why people want expansions. They want a meaty chunk of content, that builds on the old, but takes them to new things.

Yes people need quality, but they also need quantity

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269531706887/Nouvelle-cuisine-mash-002.jpg
that may taste awesome, but most people are going to want more food.

I don’t know. Let’s talk about Kessex Hills. This area changed drastically after the Nightmare Tower episode of the Living World.

I’ve done it many times before and many times after. Is it really any different? Visually it is, but there’s nothing there after that makes it a go to zone for me. None of the changes really impact play in that area.

Okay so Fort Salma was destroyed and they moved the Vista. It changes nothing, even though it’s changed. There’s a saying…a difference that makes no differences is no difference.

There’s a whole lot less value in redefining the old world than there is in adding to the new world. I’m pretty much done with Kessex Hills.

phys.7689:

Rin.1046:

Whether HoT ends with Mordy’s defeat or not, I think it makes sense to keep future LS episodes out of vanilla GW2, for the reasons already mentioned.

Some people see the Personal Story as separate from the Living World content, when in reality both storylines go hand in hand. The LW story continued on from the end of the PS, but because people could play them in any order, it often confused people as to what was happening when. But the fact is, the LW and PS is an ongoing story, with both being linked to each other, so LS episodes must be careful not to break the PS moving forward, like it has in the past. And the easiest way to ensure that is to lock it to the expansion.

People are worried that vanilla will become deserted and empty, but I do not think this will be the case. For one thing, many will want to level a revenant naturally, so many vanilla zones will remain populated. Then add to that the dailies, encouraging groups to populate various zones, and I think you will find vanilla GW2 will remain fairly active. Sure, it might not be as active as day one HoT zones, but that will die down after a while, and players will start to find their favourite areas again.

There is still plenty of things to do in vanilla, and I am confident that we will continue to get additional content added, that is not linked to HoT. For example, they said that new mini games will be added, and for all we know these may not all be locked to HoT. If they add the archery range to Divinity’s Reach, I cannot see this being locked to expansion owners only.

Vanilla GW2 will continue to remain entertaining and full of content, and I expect we will occasionally get new content added along side expansion only content. Consider the new defiance for example, this change could very well mean major changes to the way many existing vanilla champs work around the world. If future mechanic changes come to future expansions, these could have major impacts on vanilla content.

The sky is not falling. Vanilla is not coming to an end. And the devs are not leaving it behind. They are focused on HoT for now, so everything they say will be geared for that. We simply don’t know what the future holds, or whether Anet’s ideas will change. They always try to innovate and make the game fun. If that means revitalizing old zones and adding new core content, then that is what they will do. Nothing is ever set firmly in stone with Anet, as they are always trying new ideas and concepts, and that is one of the greatest things about them.

We really have nothing to worry about.

Edit:

Vayne.8563:

…snip…

I totally agree. Size is not only measured by space. I am extremely happy that Anet has seen the light and focused its attention on quantity of content over quantity of landmass. Having a large beautiful zone is great, but if there is not much to do it will only appeal to players who enjoy sight seeing. For the vast majority of players, content/activities is what keeps them playing, and this is now Anet’s focus.

actually, a lot of what you said here, is good in theory, but going according to what they said, they arent really planning on changing things in the pact tyria. One can hope thats not really what he meant, but going by what he said, expect old areas to stay the same.

I dont realy think it will be good if the game stays mostly the same, thats why people want expansions. They want a meaty chunk of content, that builds on the old, but takes them to new things.

Yes people need quality, but they also need quantity

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269531706887/Nouvelle-cuisine-mash-002.jpg
that may taste awesome, but most people are going to want more food.

And yet out of that huge quantity of content, players will be playing only a small percentage of it. Like for example the “huge” continents they gave out with GW1, the vast majority of the landmass was there to be seen once and be done with it, there was no reason to revisit most zones.

I wish we could see a “heat map” of zone activity in the “huge” continents they released in GW1

ProtoGunner.4953:

It’s normal that you have to pass on features of the expansion, that’s what an expansion is.

If you want those features buy the expansion kitten . It’s not that it costs more than a dinner with your girl friend.

If I have dinner with a girl friend it would cost me divorce costs, child support, and alimony. =D

Vayne.8563:

phys.7689:

Rin.1046:

Whether HoT ends with Mordy’s defeat or not, I think it makes sense to keep future LS episodes out of vanilla GW2, for the reasons already mentioned.

Some people see the Personal Story as separate from the Living World content, when in reality both storylines go hand in hand. The LW story continued on from the end of the PS, but because people could play them in any order, it often confused people as to what was happening when. But the fact is, the LW and PS is an ongoing story, with both being linked to each other, so LS episodes must be careful not to break the PS moving forward, like it has in the past. And the easiest way to ensure that is to lock it to the expansion.

People are worried that vanilla will become deserted and empty, but I do not think this will be the case. For one thing, many will want to level a revenant naturally, so many vanilla zones will remain populated. Then add to that the dailies, encouraging groups to populate various zones, and I think you will find vanilla GW2 will remain fairly active. Sure, it might not be as active as day one HoT zones, but that will die down after a while, and players will start to find their favourite areas again.

There is still plenty of things to do in vanilla, and I am confident that we will continue to get additional content added, that is not linked to HoT. For example, they said that new mini games will be added, and for all we know these may not all be locked to HoT. If they add the archery range to Divinity’s Reach, I cannot see this being locked to expansion owners only.

Vanilla GW2 will continue to remain entertaining and full of content, and I expect we will occasionally get new content added along side expansion only content. Consider the new defiance for example, this change could very well mean major changes to the way many existing vanilla champs work around the world. If future mechanic changes come to future expansions, these could have major impacts on vanilla content.

The sky is not falling. Vanilla is not coming to an end. And the devs are not leaving it behind. They are focused on HoT for now, so everything they say will be geared for that. We simply don’t know what the future holds, or whether Anet’s ideas will change. They always try to innovate and make the game fun. If that means revitalizing old zones and adding new core content, then that is what they will do. Nothing is ever set firmly in stone with Anet, as they are always trying new ideas and concepts, and that is one of the greatest things about them.

We really have nothing to worry about.

Edit:

Vayne.8563:

…snip…

I totally agree. Size is not only measured by space. I am extremely happy that Anet has seen the light and focused its attention on quantity of content over quantity of landmass. Having a large beautiful zone is great, but if there is not much to do it will only appeal to players who enjoy sight seeing. For the vast majority of players, content/activities is what keeps them playing, and this is now Anet’s focus.

actually, a lot of what you said here, is good in theory, but going according to what they said, they arent really planning on changing things in the pact tyria. One can hope thats not really what he meant, but going by what he said, expect old areas to stay the same.

I dont realy think it will be good if the game stays mostly the same, thats why people want expansions. They want a meaty chunk of content, that builds on the old, but takes them to new things.

Yes people need quality, but they also need quantity

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269531706887/Nouvelle-cuisine-mash-002.jpg
that may taste awesome, but most people are going to want more food.

I don’t know. Let’s talk about Kessex Hills. This area changed drastically after the Nightmare Tower episode of the Living World.

I’ve done it many times before and many times after. Is it really any different? Visually it is, but there’s nothing there after that makes it a go to zone for me. None of the changes really impact play in that area.

Okay so Fort Salma was destroyed and they moved the Vista. It changes nothing, even though it’s changed. There’s a saying…a difference that makes no differences is no difference.

There’s a whole lot less value in redefining the old world than there is in adding to the new world. I’m pretty much done with Kessex Hills.

Tower was the real focus of the design there, and its not there anymore. What was left behind was essentially the same before and after, not really a good example of quality or quantity as far as changes go.

maddoctor.2738:

phys.7689:

Rin.1046:

Whether HoT ends with Mordy’s defeat or not, I think it makes sense to keep future LS episodes out of vanilla GW2, for the reasons already mentioned.

Some people see the Personal Story as separate from the Living World content, when in reality both storylines go hand in hand. The LW story continued on from the end of the PS, but because people could play them in any order, it often confused people as to what was happening when. But the fact is, the LW and PS is an ongoing story, with both being linked to each other, so LS episodes must be careful not to break the PS moving forward, like it has in the past. And the easiest way to ensure that is to lock it to the expansion.

People are worried that vanilla will become deserted and empty, but I do not think this will be the case. For one thing, many will want to level a revenant naturally, so many vanilla zones will remain populated. Then add to that the dailies, encouraging groups to populate various zones, and I think you will find vanilla GW2 will remain fairly active. Sure, it might not be as active as day one HoT zones, but that will die down after a while, and players will start to find their favourite areas again.

There is still plenty of things to do in vanilla, and I am confident that we will continue to get additional content added, that is not linked to HoT. For example, they said that new mini games will be added, and for all we know these may not all be locked to HoT. If they add the archery range to Divinity’s Reach, I cannot see this being locked to expansion owners only.

Vanilla GW2 will continue to remain entertaining and full of content, and I expect we will occasionally get new content added along side expansion only content. Consider the new defiance for example, this change could very well mean major changes to the way many existing vanilla champs work around the world. If future mechanic changes come to future expansions, these could have major impacts on vanilla content.

The sky is not falling. Vanilla is not coming to an end. And the devs are not leaving it behind. They are focused on HoT for now, so everything they say will be geared for that. We simply don’t know what the future holds, or whether Anet’s ideas will change. They always try to innovate and make the game fun. If that means revitalizing old zones and adding new core content, then that is what they will do. Nothing is ever set firmly in stone with Anet, as they are always trying new ideas and concepts, and that is one of the greatest things about them.

We really have nothing to worry about.

Edit:

Vayne.8563:

…snip…

I totally agree. Size is not only measured by space. I am extremely happy that Anet has seen the light and focused its attention on quantity of content over quantity of landmass. Having a large beautiful zone is great, but if there is not much to do it will only appeal to players who enjoy sight seeing. For the vast majority of players, content/activities is what keeps them playing, and this is now Anet’s focus.

actually, a lot of what you said here, is good in theory, but going according to what they said, they arent really planning on changing things in the pact tyria. One can hope thats not really what he meant, but going by what he said, expect old areas to stay the same.

I dont realy think it will be good if the game stays mostly the same, thats why people want expansions. They want a meaty chunk of content, that builds on the old, but takes them to new things.

Yes people need quality, but they also need quantity

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269531706887/Nouvelle-cuisine-mash-002.jpg
that may taste awesome, but most people are going to want more food.

And yet out of that huge quantity of content, players will be playing only a small percentage of it. Like for example the “huge” continents they gave out with GW1, the vast majority of the landmass was there to be seen once and be done with it, there was no reason to revisit most zones.

I wish we could see a “heat map” of zone activity in the “huge” continents they released in GW1

Eh, i dont think people were centered anywhere specific in GW1, they were all over the place, doing whatever they wanted. I cant think of one specific content that everyone was doing, and yet it kept millions of people entertained enough to buy expansions, and campaigns.

And thats one of the advantages of a big expansion. Just because you dont like one facet, their are usually a bunch of other things to do.

For example, i generally hate snow zones in GW2. If all they add in one expansion is a snow region, i will be a lot less entertained by it.

phys.7689:

actually, a lot of what you said here, is good in theory, but going according to what they said, they arent really planning on changing things in the pact tyria. One can hope thats not really what he meant, but going by what he said, expect old areas to stay the same.

I dont realy think it will be good if the game stays mostly the same, thats why people want expansions. They want a meaty chunk of content, that builds on the old, but takes them to new things.

Yes people need quality, but they also need quantity

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269531706887/Nouvelle-cuisine-mash-002.jpg
that may taste awesome, but most people are going to want more food.

I’m not sure how you’re arguing in favour of changing old zones any more. Adding new things increases quantity. That’s what the expansion is all about. And that’s what LS2 has been all about – adding increasing amounts of new, permanent content. So that there’s a variety of different things that players can enjoy forever, including the original zones in their original condition.

Olvendred.3027:

phys.7689:

actually, a lot of what you said here, is good in theory, but going according to what they said, they arent really planning on changing things in the pact tyria. One can hope thats not really what he meant, but going by what he said, expect old areas to stay the same.

I dont realy think it will be good if the game stays mostly the same, thats why people want expansions. They want a meaty chunk of content, that builds on the old, but takes them to new things.

Yes people need quality, but they also need quantity

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269531706887/Nouvelle-cuisine-mash-002.jpg
that may taste awesome, but most people are going to want more food.

I’m not sure how you’re arguing in favour of changing old zones any more. Adding new things increases quantity. That’s what the expansion is all about. And that’s what LS2 has been all about – adding increasing amounts of new, permanent content. So that there’s a variety of different things that players can enjoy forever, including the original zones in their original condition.

they can change old zones, or they can add a lot of new zones, but i dont think they can not add a lot of new zones, and not change old zones, and still have people not end up bored.

phys.7689:

Yes people need quality, but they also need quantity

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/25/1269531706887/Nouvelle-cuisine-mash-002.jpg
that may taste awesome, but most people are going to want more food.

I think you have miss understood what we mean. We are not talking quality of content, though that is of course a very important factor. We are talking QUANTITY of content, as opposed to quantity of playing space.

For example, as already pointed out by Vayne, there is more to do in Dry Top and Silver Wastes than there is in many larger vanilla zones.

That is not to say the new HoT zones will not be large. I think Anet is not only trying to utilize the space better, by filling it with more activities, but they are also trying to utilize it more space wise, by using the vertical space more. The X and Y parameters of the new zones may be similar to normal zones, but the Z parameter will be used much more. Each zone will have 3 layers, so in effect could very well equate to 3 zones in one. And if each of those layers has more activities than a normal 1 layer zone, we could be looking at an immense amount of content to consume, and hopefully reconsume.

We know we will be getting 1 region, and in that region we may only be getting 3 zones. But with each zone having 3 layers, we will effectively have 9 zones for the horizontal space of 3. We are going to have to look at HoT a lot differently in terms of how we evaluate its size. Not just in terms of considering its vertical space, but in terms of the quantity of the activities it will provide.

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

joneb.5679:

Boanoah I wouldn’t trust Colin or anyone representing any publicity or information about modern industry of any kind, whether video games, movies, technology. It has been proven time and again they will lie or use word play and things that were once promised will change and things denied are often proven to be true.

It wasn’t that long ago they denied there were plans for a paid for expansion etc though to be honest I dont think there were for a long time. This expnasion is really just content they were originally working in as LS and timed feature updates I believe.

Can I borrow some of that tinfoil? I’m cooking ribs and need something to cover them up.

LoL Im just analysing alot of what I have read about and experienced. I would like to say I know I cant believe all I read but then you would probably say I need more tin foil on my hat. But seriously from movies to to tv series to computer games, to new technology, the media gets everywhere and what it really likes to do is speculate.

The problem is a lot of real information gets leaked into the world these days and so the only way to try and throw a red herring into information you don’t want to waste your plans is to deny it. That way people don’t know if its real or rumour. It has been proven time and again how when a company says one thing it will do another if public reaction is bad it will backtrack. This has happened time and again.

Its not about “conspiracy theory”. its purely business.

joneb.5679:

Tobias Trueflight.8350:

joneb.5679:

Boanoah I wouldn’t trust Colin or anyone representing any publicity or information about modern industry of any kind, whether video games, movies, technology. It has been proven time and again they will lie or use word play and things that were once promised will change and things denied are often proven to be true.

It wasn’t that long ago they denied there were plans for a paid for expansion etc though to be honest I dont think there were for a long time. This expnasion is really just content they were originally working in as LS and timed feature updates I believe.

Can I borrow some of that tinfoil? I’m cooking ribs and need something to cover them up.

LoL Im just analysing alot of what I have read about and experienced. I would like to say I know I cant believe all I read but then you would probably say I need more tin foil on my hat. But seriously from movies to to tv series to computer games, to new technology, the media gets everywhere and what it really likes to do is speculate.

The problem is a lot of real information gets leaked into the world these days and so the only way to try and throw a red herring into information you don’t want to waste your plans is to deny it. That way people don’t know if its real or rumour. It has been proven time and again how when a company says one thing it will do another if public reaction is bad it will backtrack. This has happened time and again.

Its not about “conspiracy theory”. its purely business.

They never said they would never bring out an expansion, it has always been a possibility. In 2013 they even stated they have other teams working on some big projects, no doubt this expansion is one of those big projects.

I can’t imagine Vanilla GW2 will be any more dead than when any other game comes out with an expansion. 95% of people will get expansion, the last 5% of people will play Vanilla only until they save up the money or just outright quit because they simply refuse/unable to spend the money for the expansion (sad state of affairs if that’s the case, if someone literally can’t save 1$/day until they have the funds necessary then they don’t deserve to access that content anyway, like no joke, put 1$ every day into a jar or something, heck even $0.50/day would suffice honestly).